Nonsurgical Rhinoplasty: Patient Satisfaction and Progression to Surgery

Nonsurgical rhinoplasty (NSR) may achieve a satisfactory aesthetic result. However, if NSR falls short of patient goals, patients may then elect to undergo surgical rhinoplasty. This latter cohort of patients has not been well studied in terms of satisfaction and motivation to pursue surgical rhinoplasty.

The objectives of this study are to determine when NSR may be most beneficial and why patients may choose to undergo surgical rhinoplasty following NSR.

A retrospective review was conducted of patients undergoing NSR from 2019 to 2024 by a single surgeon. All patients received injection of hyaluronic acid filler. Demographic data, satisfaction scores using FACE-Q data, progression to surgical rhinoplasty, and complications following injection and rhinoplasty were recorded.

About one hundred and sixty-two patients were included in the study. About 90.7% were females, and average patient age was 30.5 ± 9.2 years. On average, patients had 1.7 ± 1.2 injections with an average of 0.38 + 0.08 cc volume per injection. Also, 8/162 (4.9%) of patients went on to surgical rhinoplasty with an average of 8.1 ± 5.8 months between last injection and surgery. The main motivations for proceeding to surgical rhinoplasty were patient readiness for more permanent results. FACE-Q surveys were completed by 36/162 (22.2%) of patients, which showed an average satisfaction of 79.8% + 15.7%.

Nonsurgical rhinoplasty is a safe aesthetic procedure with low rate of progression to surgical rhinoplasty. In patients who elect to proceed to surgical rhinoplasty, the main motivation is readiness for permanent surgical outcomes.